


No Sugar

by orphan_account



Category: Naruto
Genre: Badass Sakura, Blind man leading the blind romance, Crushes, Eventual Romance, F/M, Medic Sakura, Sakura is clueless, Strong Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke Being an Idiot, Uchiha Sasuke Returns to Konoha, it all works out at the end, sasuke really likes Sakura, workaholic sakura
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:07:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29378277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: There was a weird pleasure to be derived from loving someone who didn't love you. Unfortunately, Sasuke was starting to drown in this pleasure. Sakura is clueless. The constant threats from Ishigakure is probably what they need.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 13
Kudos: 151





	1. Chapter 1

“I love you.” Sakura said firmly to her bed. She wrapped the furry blankets around herself, relishing the warmth it gave her. Her pillow was just at the right height and the fluffiness and gods, she was ready to go to sleep. 

It had been a very long day as she pieced people back together in the hospital. Two Genin teams came back from their missions almost shredded apart, and Sakura had to meticulously attempt to return them to a functional state- and that took intense concentration and chakra. 

But now, all was done and she was slipping into the brilliant world of hazy sleep which she had been looking forward to the whole day. 

“Sakura” A distinctly male voice called out, pulling her away from her well deserved sleep. 

Sakura toyed the idea of driving her fists through the intruder’s face but then, it would require that she actually moved. 

So she did the next best thing, pretending like she wasn't awake. There was no urgency in the tone that he spoke, so hopefully he would understand Sakura really needed this sleep. 

“Sakura.” He said, but this time much more firmly. 

Sakura let out a pitiful moan. She was so close to resting and had been caving into sleep but now, but now she could already tell she wasn't going to get any at least a few hours. 

“Sasuke.” She mumbled out. 

The dark haired male sighed. “I require your help.” 

“Come back tomorrow.” She muttered out, giving a biting edge to the tone, hoping that the bloody Uchiha realised how much he was annoying her. 

“It's important.” Sasuke paused and Sakura felt the man’s gaze sweep over her form. “Sakura.” He repeated but this time, in an exasperated voice. 

Sakura could never deny a chance to be useful, especially to her friends so unfortunately, she languidly leaned herself on the headrest, trying to clear her mind. Her eyes focused on the Uchiha dressed in full ANBU gear with the cat mask attached to his legs. 

“Happy?” She said, crossing her arms in annoyance. “Now speak.” 

Without a pause, the Uchiha started speaking. “One of my teammates was unable to join the mission. I require your presence at the border patrol.” 

Oh sweet God. “Border patrol? Really?” 

“Well, there is a high chance that Ishinins are trying to slip through our borders so I want an aggressive team in case a fight breaks out.” 

Sakura snorted. “It's flattering that you think I’m capable enough to help. But I am not going to help in this state. Take Ino.”

Now, Sakura fully expected the raven haired shinobi to go away, but instead he pulled the blankets away from her, exposing her suddenly to the cold air.

“Okay.” Sakura gritted out. “I’m going to start breaking your every bone, starting from your bloody toes.” 

She felt a smug sense of satisfaction as Sasuke unconsciously backed away in caution. “You’re the only nin with enough clearance and expertise to join this mission.” He explained. 

Now this is interesting. “Brief me.” 

“You know I can only do that if you accept the mission.” 

Sakura gave a heated glare. “Your every bone, Sasuke. Starting from your metatarsals.” 

The Uchiha sat on the windowsill- presumably that was where he came from. “We have good authority that Ishinins are setting up a bunker in Konoha territory. We’re leaving in two hours.”

“And you need me because…?” 

“We suspect that the Ishinins are setting up underground bunkers, and your skills will be greatly appreciated.” 

Sakura laughed, momentarily forgetting about the fact that she was rudely woke up in the middle of the night. “Is the mighty Uchiha planning to rest while I smash and upturn rocks?” 

Sasuke blinked with utmost innocence. “Efficiency is the key, is it not?” 

“Yes, leaving the village in a quest to find himself is so very efficient.” She snarked, swinging her legs over and stretching. She winced as her back cracked in almost spectacular fashion. 

A small smile tugged on the Uchiha’s face. “It all worked out at the end.” 

“Of course. Come in, I’ll give you some tea.” Sakura said, making her way to the kitchen. 

She couldn’t help but to muse over the fact that she felt comfortable in front of Sasuke with just a shirt. It was ironic that ten years ago, she would be literally dying to get to this position. But now, Sasuke and Sakura was in the train of friendship heading to platonicville and she loved the dynamic. 

“So what’s with Hinata?” She asked, putting a small amount of diluted soldier pill in the kettle, not forgetting to put a dash of honey to make the taste better. She found that the diluted soldier pill gave a healthy kick to her system and had a relatively small amount of drawback. 

Sasuke seated himself on the corner of her sofa- that was practically his spot. “She has an impromptu clan meeting.” 

“Mm, it’s about the clan business. She came for advice a few days ago.”

“She’s missing out because of Clan business?” He asked with a hint of incredulousness. 

Sakura smiled. Yes, this was typical Sasuke with the inability to grasp family matters. “Well, I think it’s more of a power struggle between the elders and Hinata.”

“Ah yes.” The Uchiha said in the clear tone of I-don’t-really-understand. 

Setting a teacup in front of him, she settled herself next to him. “Tell me about the mission.” 

Sasuke pulled out a mission scroll to show that it was black- ANBU mission. “Shino and Sai have gathered that Ishinins have infiltrated and placed an underground bunker in our borders. Since Ishigakure (Land of Stone) is now closely allied with Iwagakure, we don’t want to leave anyone alive.” 

Sakura nodded in understanding. “You want them to disappear without proof that we were the ones who made them disappear. Since in all technicality, Iwa can declare war with us saying we engaged with their ally. Even though they were on our bloody land.” 

“It's a sensitive mission. ANBU clearance is set since we don’t want someone to leak Sai and Shino as our source since they’re technically spying. However, I highly doubt that engaging with the enemy will be hard.” 

Sakura tried not to think how Sasuke practically jinxed their mission by saying that the fight won’t be hard. “That’s very good. Who else is coming?” 

“Kiba and Yamato.” 

“Yamato-senpai, Sasuke.” She corrected in mere habit. 

As always, Sasuke ignored and continued on. “We’re meeting at the gate at four. It’s approximately a half-day mission.” 

“Team leader?” 

Sasuke let out an amused smile. “Me of course.” 

Now, Sakura let out almost a whimper. From her previous experiences, she knew that Sasuke as the team leader was brutal in all aspects. Since Sasuke was literally like a brick in mission, it was always boring- unlike going on missions with Gemna-senpai for example. 

Of course, that would be fine if Sasuke hadn't learned how to lead from Kakashi-sensei and Orochimaru, who differed in literally all aspects except one. Pace. When Sasuke led the team, he was a vicious leader, keeping them at a high pace and giving small breaks in between. It was always efficient but breathtakingly brutal. 

“I’ll like to propose Yamato-senpai for the team leader. He has much more experience and his Wood Release will be very useful in this mission.” She deadpanned. 

The Uchiha merely replied in a pleasant sunny tone, clearly knowing why Sakura suggested this. “No.” 

Sakura rolled her eyes at how Sasuke enjoyed her discomfort. “Well then, Taishou, I’ll have to report that my chakra reserves and ability to concentrate are lower than usual since I’ve performed three major surgeries today. So it is with great remorse I say that you can't whip us like circus animals.” 

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. “Duly noted. Was it the genin team that came in today, the team that you perform surgery on? They seemed to be in bad shape.” 

“The genin teams. It was a C-mission that got out of hand and Lee’s and Moegi’s team almost got wiped out.” 

Sasuke gave a surprised look. “Someone beat Rock Lee and two genin teams? Who?” 

Sakura winced. Someone beating Rock Lee- one of the highest skilled shinobi in the village was indeed a surprising idea but the fact that he lost with Moegi and his genin team was almost outrageous. “Ishigakure shinobi.” 

“Ishigakure seems to be a threat.” 

Sakura gave a hum of agreement. Ishigakure was a small hidden village but it had one of the biggest ratios of kekkai genkai ninjas. Since the Five Great Shinobi Nations were now busy sorting out allegiance and free trade, it was understable that some village would try to weasel its way to the top. 

“I’m sure Shikamaru has already written a report and planned our move.” Sakura replied evenly. 

There was absolutely no doubt about that fact. “Then we’ll have to capture Ishinins in our mission for information. Do you happen to have a spare Body Storing Scroll?” 

“I don’t think so, I’m pretty sure Naruto raided the last of mine.”

“Of course the dobe did. You better get ready then. We need to get the scroll and sub you in for Hinata in the mission roster.” 

“You owe me one.” Sakura reminded him as she went to her bedroom to change. 

It felt a pleasant glow in her chest knowing that Sasuke picked her for this mission. No doubt that there were other shinobi who were available but Sasuke basically decided that an exhausted Sakura with low chakra levels was better than anyone. 

Not to mention that it probably also helped that she was the only person who can literally smash through the floor and wipe the whole entire base without breaking even a sweat. Other shinobi would have to use some kind of Earth Release for that scale of destruction. 

With a satisfied smile, Sakura stripped on her standard Konoha ANBU gear and put on her bird mask. The mask didn't really do anything because Sakura had a very distinctive coloured hair that most ninja recognised, so it was mainly just part of the procedure. 

“Where are we having.. very early breakfast? Very late dinner?” Sakura asked. It was customary for Team 7 to eat together before a mission, and even if Naruto wasn't here, they still proceeded. 

Sasuke placed his own masks on his face. “Takeshi’s or Akino?” 

“Akino. And you're paying since you dragged me out of bed.” 

“Of course. I am so sorry for the inconvenience.” He said with the sarcasm thick in his voice. 

Sakura ignored his snark because she was, of course, a warm and kind individual, and followed Sasuke as he hopped out of her window. 

They raced towards the Hokage Tower because they were competitive teammates and thus, arrived almost mere minutes later. 

Waving by Administrative nin- Ichimuru Aoi - who looked very bored behind the desk, they made their way to the Jonin commonfloor. 

Unsurprisingly, there were few people loitering around. Anko-senpai was on the couch, reading through a scroll and speaking to her snake summons. Two Jonins who she hadn't seen before were standing in front of the fridge, having a passionate argument about something. Sakura also noticed a few gray strands of hair peeking out from the armchair, and she guessed Kakashi-sensei was here as well. 

Not making eye contact with Anko since making voluntary eye contact meant that you either wanted sex or a fight, they swiftly went to the ANBU mission roster. Of course, ANBU’s roster technically should not be here since not every Jonin had to be an ANBU, but that being ANBU was like a secret requirement of becoming a Jonin. 

Being an ANBU meant that you were either a very good shinobi, or that you were very good at a special field. If you were a good shinobi to the point that you were accepted to ANBU, that meant that you were already up to Jonin standard. If you were very good at a field and were accepted to be ANBU, that meant that you were ready to be a Special Jonin. 

So, having the ANBU roster at a different place was basically just an inconvenience for everyone and thus now lived on the Jonin floor. 

As Sasuke flipped through the file to take Hinata's name out, she tried to ignore the stares that the unrecognisable Jonins gave them. She could see that they had stopped arguing but started whispering something fervently to each other. 

“It's an A-rank and clear on destruction.” Sasuke informed her. 

“Isn't that music to my ears.” Sakura purred. As a person who had a very aggressive style of literally punching and kicking opponents with super strength, her environment tended to get literally destroyed after a fight. 

“I hope you two aren't going to destroy a whole section of the forest like last time.” A jovial voice interrupted. 

Sakura let out a cheery laugh. “Don't exaggerate, sensei. It was three quarters of a forest.” 

Kakashi sensei poked his head from the chair to face her. “I’m sure the genin team who had to clean it up cared much about that distinction.”

Spying the lack of the normal orange book in her sensei’s hand, Sakura felt a sense of satisfaction. “Well, obviously that genin team succeeded in tearing your book away. So I’m sure cleaning up some training fields was no problem for them.” 

Immediately, Anko stopped speaking to her snakes and the two jonins froze to look. 

She watched in amusement as Kakashi-sensei’s face turned from surprise to a feigned blank face. “That’s not very nice of you.” He spoke in a dangerously low tone. The dangerous glint in his single exposed eye made Sakura smile even wider. 

“Well sensei, when you spread rumours that I am dating Sasuke, you should be prepared for the repercussions.” She added in an even sweet tone. “Naruto was also more than happy to fund the mission as well. Something about handing an important mission report late?”

Anko chuckled while eavesdropping. “They’re definitely your students, Hatake.” She mused. 

Her sensei scratched his head in a sheepish manner. “Sakura, if you’re going to be this way, I’m going to have to take actions.” 

“Actions? I’m very threatened, Sensei.” She said, while cracking her knuckles to remind him that she possessed skills that would make it hard for him to take actions. 

Kakashi-sensei gave her an innocent one eyed smile. “Actions such as accidentally dropping your old love poems to Sasuke that you wrote when you were a genin. It would be a shame if I dropped it at Naruto's office.” 

Sasuke made a choked sound and stared at her with astonishment while Sakura matched her sensei’s innocent smile. “It would be a bigger shame if I accidentally tell Ino that you and Anko-senpai are in an interesting kinky fling with each other.” 

“It is time to leave.” Sasuke said flatly, his ears slightly red from Sakura's remark. “I like to retain my sanity and not hear about Kakashi’s sex life.” 

Sakura stared at her frozen ex-teacher while Anko burst into loud peals of laughter. “I like you kid! You raised a fine one, Hatake.” 

Sasuke tugged her arm in an insistence to go, and Sakura let out a dramatic sigh. “Unfortunately, I need to go on a mission. See you later, Sensei!” 

As the Uchiha practically dragged her out of the building, Sakura reached to ruffle his hair. “Is the young Uchiha having a hard time hearing my derogatory remarks? You didn’t seem this shy when you kissed Naruto way back.” She teased. 

Sasuke immediately swatted her hand away and glared. “That was an accident. Telling you about it was also an accident” He gritted out.

Sakura just laughed at annoyed Sasuke. If Sasuke was going to enjoy torturing her under his command this mission, she was going to enjoy annoying Sasuke right now. “Of course, of course.” She dismissed him. 

With his eyes almost starting to bleed red, Sasuke started to retort back. “I guess you’re saying that you don’t need a Body Sealing Scroll but want to carry the Ishinin? As a captain, I accept your request.” 

Oh shit. “Sasukeee.” She whined. Carrying someone wasn’t a hard thing but the sensation of carrying an unconscious person flopping while you run wasn’t a pleasurable experience. 

Sasuke looked down to his wrist- devoid of a watch. “Oh look. We only have time to eat. I’m glad you volunteered to carry the Ishinin. Thanks Sakura.” He said in choppy cross sentences. 

Sakura stuck her tongue out. “Grumpy Uchiha.” She commented. 

The raven haired Shinobi ignored her and stiffly made his way to Akino restaurant. 

Staring at the taunt and reliable back of her teammate, Sakura let a small fond smile blossom.

***

“I don’t think attempting to maim your Captain is professional behaviour.” Sasuke said coolly. 

Sakura snarled back at him while twirling a chopstick like a kunai. “The mission hasn't started yet, Sasuke.” 

As Sasuke took a step back, she realised that it was always nice to know that Sasuke, someone who seemed so much more skilled for a good chunk of her adolescence, was a little cautious around her. That action spoke louder than any words because it was the biggest compliment, saying that Sakura could definitely be a threat to him. 

“I wasn't aware you were this touchy about your relationship with Kiba.” Sasuke continued on, and Sakura could see he enjoyed how it annoyed her. 

Narrowing her eyes, Sakura threw the chopstick directly at his mouth without chakra. “That's because I don't have the type of relationship you're thinking about with Kiba.” She said. “If you mention it one more time, I will use more than chopsticks.” 

Sasuke just caught the wooden projectile with practiced ease and set it on the table. “Ah, is it Sai then?” 

At that, Sakura bursted into laughter because the idea that she was involved with Sai was ridiculous. “God no Sasuke. Why are you suddenly investigating my love life?” 

The broody Uchiha pretended to be immersed in his food and looked out the window like something important was suddenly outside. It was oddly Kakashi-sensei-like, the way he disregarded everything. 

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Sasuke. “ She let out in exasperation. 

Of course, an Uchiha wasn't an Uchiha if he wasn't stubborn. And being the last Uchiha, Sasuke definitely held up to the stereotype as he calmly placed a piece of tuna sushi in his mouth. 

“Uchiha Sasuke.” She reprimanded his silence, leaning forward to catch his eyes. 

His onyx eyes flicked up to meet her green ones and to her surprise, she saw that his ears were slightly red. There were few moments of silence as Sakura patiently waited. 

“Your neck.” He almost whispered out. 

Sakura cocked her head in a questioning way. “What about it?” She asked, trying to figure out why the Uchiha was acting so strange. 

“Go to the bathroom and see it for yourself.” He snapped out in an almost arrogant manner. It was the tone of voice that always made Sakura smile because it was she knew Sasuke was putting up a front to cover up his embarrassment. 

Sakura gave a funny look. “Why?” 

Sasuke looked frustrated and stomped by her question. His face set in a flabbergasted but slightly flustered expression and poorly masked with indifference. 

“You have something on it.” He said. It was bizarre that Sasuke was making a big deal about the fact she had something on her neck. What is going on?

Sakura sighed. Something was clearly wrong but Sasuke was probably too socially inept to say it. “Okay, I don't know what's happening but stop playing games Sasuke. What are you on about?”

Sasuke fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable with what he was going to say next. “You have a hickey.”

Oh god. Mortified, Sakura’s hands flew to her neck in order to hide it. Then realised that she had no idea where the hickey was because she hadn't dated anyone in about a year. 

“I don't really know..? What?” She tried to say, conveying her confusion. “Give me your blade.” 

The male grunted and tossed his elegant blade at her. For a few seconds, she admired the beauty in her hands, the absolute perfection of elegance and minimalistic utility that captured every ninja’s heart. 

With effortless grace, she unsheathed the beauty, letting the chakra conducting steel glint in the low light of the restaurant. Even though it wasn't startling sliver, it was enough for her to see a distorted but vague reflection. 

She faced to the left, letting her neck be exposed and finally seeing what made Sasuke so flustered. 

A simple red bruise on her neck. 

And she couldn't help it, she burst out in laughter. 

“Is this what you got so caught up on?” 

Sasuke glared at her. “There's no need to display your sex life.” 

“It's obvious that you're lacking your sex life considering that you can't distinguish a hickey from an actual bruise.” Sakura informed. 

She enjoyed the sight of Sasuke opening his mouth and closing it again then huffing in annoyance as he understood what just happened. “It's dark so I was misled.” He let out. 

Sakura nodded in mock understanding. “Ah yes, of course. A bruise from getting slammed on the tree is really similar to foreplay.” She continued in an ironic tone. 

“Shut up.” He hissed out, then grabbed his sword harshly from her hands. 

“After ten years, your response to embarrassment is the same as when you were twelve. It's quite reassuring actually.” Sakura commented, mindful to watch Sasuke’s reaction. The man tended to get slightly violent when backed into a corner. 

“My maturity had already peaked back then. If we’re going to talk about our twelve year old selves, I'll like to point out that you were a terrifying fangirl.” 

Sakura blushed slightly, remembering her embarrassing self. “I think it's better than turning into a missing nin!” 

Sasuke just smirked back. “I think the only way that could be fairly judged is if I read those love letters you wrote which Kakashi outed on. I'm sure those are bigger offences on humanity than me turning into a missing nin.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes I wrote love letters to you when I was stupid and young. Can we move on now?” She pleaded as the more embarrassing memories plagued her mind. 

“If you admit that I turned into a missing nin when I was stupid and young- and then we can move on from it.” 

Sakura let out an easy chuckle. “Alright, fair play.” 

Snatching the last piece of sushi right under Sasuke’s hovering hands, Sakura stretched and rolled her shoulders. 

Sasuke gave a suffering glance but nevertheless placed the according amount of cash in the bill. “I'm sure this attitude will continue when you carry the unconscious Ishinin back home.” 

Sakura scrunched up her nose in distaste. “You're just being petty.” 

“I believe it's karma.” He said, standing up. 

“I'm just Naruto’s Kurama will agree to that.” She joked. 

Sasuke sighed and started to walk a little faster. “I already regret recruiting you for the mission.” 

Sakura gave Sasuke’s shoulder a brief squeeze. “You know you love me, Sasuke. No matter the puns and bickering.” 

Mumbling words that sounded like Ew, the raven haired shinobi dashed away from her, climbing up to the rooftop in practiced ease. Simply ignoring her love declaration, he shot away in the dark village. 

Laughing aloud, Sakura closely followed, launching herself from the metal beams to the roof. 

It was nice to be around Sasuke. Ever since he came back from his Quest of Enlightenment and Revenge, he was more relaxed, a little more carefree and well, easier to talk to. 

He didn’t rage when Sakura teased mercilessly and actually bantered back with her. He was now displaying a more varied aptitude of emotions that made him seem so much more human. But mostly he was different from the person whom the twelve year old Sakura fell in love with. That Sakura loved the mystique and the ‘cool’ aura. 

Of course, now Sakura was eternally grateful that Sasuke grew out of his angst stage and to a semi functional yet socially awkward adult. Sasuke was now reliable and trustworthy. Sakura trusted Sasuke with her life and perhaps it helped that if Sasuke turned against her, she wouldn’t die in a microsecond. That said, current Sakura could definitely appreciate him as a friend. 

She could see the dim outline of the gates and she looked up at the sky to see the time. It was a habit that was difficult to break as a ninja since they were drilled to tell time with stars instinctively. 

“We’re here a little early.” Sakura remarked as they positioned himself under a large oak tree on the right of the gates. 

“Hn.” 

“Mmm” 

And that’s how Akamaru found them, in a comfortable silence with each leaning on a different side of the tree. 

The white dog with black ears ran at her with canine speed, and barrelled right into her knocking her wind out. But Sakura couldn't care less as she loved Akamaru to bits. 

“Akamaru! Hello!” She greeted while scratching his neck. His soft fur, warmth and absolute cuteness made her clutch him a little tighter. 

With wagging tails, Akamaru gave a delighted bark and nuzzled on her lap. 

“Yo!” Kiba called out, leisurely strolling. He had the customary ANBU uniform with a slightly scuffed badger mask. “I thought Hinata was gonna be here?” 

Watching Sasuke awkwardly trying to pet Akamaru, Sakura answered. “She’s at an impromptu clan meeting so I’m filling in.” 

“Yes!” The dog owner shouted with an enthusiastic wave of a fist, “This will be a piece of cake with you. You’ll just tap and a forest will disappear.” 

“Everyone seems to know about you wiping out the forest, Sakura.” Sasuke commented. 

Sakura scratched her head sheepishly. “Well, I had to send out a massive chakra spike for reinforcement. And then I went mental on her and so many people were there to witness the forest being harmed.” 

Kiba snorted. “Harmed is the wrong word. Obliterated is more right. She tore that place apart with her bare hands and the group of spies from Kiri stood literally no chance against her.” 

Sakura tried to coax the dog into her arms to give him another ruffle and a hug. “I kept two of them alive for information. I think that's a miracle by itself.” Akamaru rubbed his cold wet nose against her face, making her giggle. 

Watching Sasuke’s slightly amused face, she dug into Kiba’s pouch and took out Akamaru’s treat. “Attack!” She exclaimed loudly, pointing at Sasuke. 

Akamaru barked in confirmation and lunged towards the raven haired ninja with its massive paws outstretched. 

Sasuke tried to leap away except for the fact that Sakura gave a not so subtle tap on the back of his legs, ruining his balance. 

Perhaps Sasuke five years ago would have killed Akamaru. But this Sasuke let the massive dog pounce on Sasuke’s crumbled form and the Uchiha fell backwards on the soft mud ground with an omph. 

“Good job!” Sakura complimented brightly, and Akamaru gave a sloppy dog kiss to Sasuke’s cheek. Seeing the annoyed look on the ninja’s face, both Sakura and Kiba bursted out in laughter. 

Akamaru returned to his owner’s feet, lolling his tongue and rubbing his head against Kiba’s leg. “Nice going Uchiha.” 

Sasuke gave a hated glance with venom. “If your rabid dog attacks me once again, I will skin him and use him as a fur coat.” 

“Rabid dog? Are you calling Akamaru untamed?” Kiba demanded, waggling his finger at Sasuke. 

A normal sane person would've backed away from the fiery Inuzuka temper but Sakura knew that Sasuke had this weird sense of pride that wouldn't let him back away from situations like this. 

“That's exactly what I'm calling him.” Sasuke said haughtily, eyeing Akamaru probably in case it pounced at him away. 

Kiba fumes. “At least Akamaru listens and doesn’t decide to run out of the village!” 

“Are we not going on a mission?” A smooth voice interrupted. 

The two males turned around to face the familiar face. “Yamato-senpai, hello.” Sakura greeted cheerfully, glad that he was here to stop the testosterone fuelled males. 

“Call me Tenzo now, please.” He replied, readjusting the yellowish cat looking mask. 

Sasuke cleared his throat. “I'll brief now everyone is here. Our mission is to investigate and exterminate any Ishigakure’s bases inside Konoha’s borders. Lethal force and destruction is allowed. It would be preferred if we can leave one nin alive to interrogate. The formation is 1-2-1 with Tenzo at the back. Any questions?” 

“Is it possible that we will not be able to locate them since we are missing a sensor?” Kiba asked. 

Sasuke nodded. “There is a small possibility. However, with my Sharingan, I would be able to look through most Genjutsu. And you can detect any foreign scent.” 

They all nodded in understanding. 

Sakura briefly wondered why he wasn't taking Karin. After all, Karin was one of the best sensors in this generation and would be a great aid. She was fairly certain that she saw the red hair yesterday at a food stand. 

I’m sure there’s a good reason. This is Sasuke. He never does anything without a good reason. 

“Our camp will be at Konoha Forest section 2-12.” Sasuke informed everyone while restrapped their sandals to get ready to run. 

“Section 2-12?!” Sakura and Kiba exclaimed incredulously in unison. 

“That’s ages away.” Kiba moaned. 

Sasuke gave a familiar sadistic smirk. “We are capable ninjas of Konoha.” He merely stated.

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Dear taichou. I’m not sure if you were listening to me when I talked about low levels of chakra. I will incapacitate you if that’s what it takes to have a slow pace.” She said slowly, enunciating every single word. She stared directly into his eyes with every bit of threat in her voice. 

Really, it was almost a joke. Sasuke was the taichou, and if he really insisted, Kiba, Sakura and Tenzo would have no choice by the abide. However, this was different as Sakura was recruited literally in her sleep. It had an air of informality to it. 

Sasuke’s eyes met Sakura’s pleading ones and the man let out a deep sigh. “Section 2-5 then.” He let out stiffly. 

Sakura saw Kiba open his mouth to argue even further but she nonchalantly jabbed her elbows in his stomach and smiled brightly as Sasuke. “Thanks, taichou! You’re the best.” 

Sasuke grunted and signaled to get into the formation. 

Ignoring Kiba’s mutter of, “Man, he’s whipped,” Sasuke stood next to him. 

And with Sasuke’s hand signal, they started their mission.


	2. 2

Sakura let out a happy sigh when she saw the marker stating that they've entered Section 2-5. The leafy green forest was relentlessly tediously boring and she almost wished that they would stumble across the base for some action. 

Sweet sweet relief from physical exhaustion washed over her as Sasuke signaled to stop at the clearing. 

So far, they haven't encountered any foreign chakra or scent; which meant that they would need to continue their search. 

Tenzo set down his pack and started to unseal his equipment. “I'll take the first watch. Do you think you can take a watch Bird?” 

Sakura- Bird- nodded. “I took the diluted pill so I'll be fine. I'll take the last watch though.” She said. The last watch one was the easiest and got the most amount of sleep as they didn't have to wake up and fall back asleep. 

Kiba, pulling out his sleeping bag and setting it on the floor, stumbled on top of it. 

Sakura frowned. “Why are you so tired? Did you go on a mission right before?” 

The Inuzuka rolled over, giving Akamaru space to settle. “Nah. My girlfriend is just energetic.” He said with a wolfish smile. 

Sakura laughed. “Oh yeah? It's one of the freshie Jonin right? One with good arse?” 

Kiba nodded fervently. “That's the one. She’s one of the Yakamura.” 

“Stop checking out other girls and go to sleep, Bird.” Sasuke spitted out, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation. 

Of course, if Sasuke was uncomfortable about something, she would exploit it. That was rule 1 of being a friend. “Yeah? Are you uncomfortable with me checking out other girls, Cat? What if I like girls? Do you just want to join us? A threesome?” Sasuke mercilessly teased. 

Tenzo mumbled an excuse of scouting the area and bolted while Kiba let out a chuckle. 

Even though she couldn't see the Uchiha- Cat- , she knew that he would be blushing at her words. “I know you're not a lesbian Sakura.” Sasuke said patiently. 

“Doesn't mean she ain't bi.” Kiba added helpfully. 

Moments of thoughtful silence followed as Sasuke tried to figure out his brain and Sakura at the same time. “Just go to sleep.” He said with a hint of weariness and exasperation in his tone. 

Kiba and Sakura snickered but nevertheless followed his orders. 

As the brilliant night sky spilled over the star, Sakura’s mind wandered in fragmented sleep hazy thoughts. 

To be honest, it was probably more true to say it was a thought about a person. 

Sasuke Uchiha. 

The arrogant Uchiha. The shy, socially awkward Uchiha. He relentlessly invaded her thoughts at all times, and she hated it. 

Every Time she ate something tasty, she would make a mental note to pack some for Sasuke. Every Time she walked into training grounds, the memory of sparring hit her. Every Time she saw something on sale, she would wonder if Sasuke would appreciate the item. 

Of course, Sasuke was one of her closest friends and she used to tell herself that the constant presence of the Uchiha in her mind was just because she valued him as a friend. 

It was when she dated Ichi- the hot catch of the year- that made her realise that she still harboured feelings for Sasuke. Ichi was charming, polite, powerful, and intelligent. And for some bizarre reasons, he had confessed to her with almost adorable shyness and blush colouring his cheeks. 

Ignoring the nagging feeling of wrong, Sakura had accepted. Ino was simply overjoyed about the premise and planned the whole entire wedding by the first week. And Sakura, well, laughed awkwardly at all her teasing. The whole entire thing didn't feel right. 

His kisses just felt like overly wet sloppiness that she tolerated. The hands that travel to her body parts when hugging felt invasive and uncomfortable. His hands that caressed her curves with fondness and gentleness felt foreign. 

The whole entire thing didn't feel right. 

So it was only a matter of time. After a few drinks, and ended up in the bed with naked bodies pressed against each other, Sakura freaked. 

Only thing she could think about was how wrong this was and she just knew who she would want to replace the spot of her boyfriend. 

Sasuke Uchiha. 

Even if he wasn't as polite and polite as Ichi, Sakura didn't care. Ichi wasn't who she wanted. 

With utter mortification, she realised that she still harboured a stupid crush on Sasuke. On a person who would never like her back. Like a bloody idiot. 

She had broken down sobbing in front of Ichi and the poor boy had tried to console her. But really, that just made Sakura into a worse person. 

She had basically used this sweet boy who just liked her to figure out that she still held a crush on her teammate since twelve, after being rejected by the so said teammate. If that wasn't a dictionary definition of pathetic, she didn't know what was. She apologised reverently and gods, Ichi just smiled and hoped for her wellbeing. He said he was glad that Sakura told him the truth. 

As the memory of her crying in front of Ichi came back, she let out a groan of embarrassment.

Thankfully, sounds of soft breathing from Kiba, Tenzo, and Sasuke brought her comfort and she snuggled more into her sleeping bag, trying to clear her head of the stupid memories and floating emotions. 

She knew that this was probably part of growing up and she should move on. 

Except quelling a crush was much harder than acquiring one. 

***

Sakura stared at the rising sun, stretching. Her watch was over and it was now time to start moving again. 

Of course, all of her teammates were half-awake and were just trying to rest as long as they could. 

“Let’s go!” Sakura exclaimed enthusiastically, clapping her hands together. 

Akamaru yawned- an adorable dog yawn- and nudged Kiba, making him roll and pretty reluctantly start to get ready. 

Grinning at Sasuke who was trying to blink sleep out of his eyes, she packed her own bag, sealing the sleeping bag in. 

“Taichou, should I send out my Wood Clones to cover more area?” Tenzo asked, already ready. 

Sasuke let out a noise of consideration. “The clones will scout well but may not look through any disguises that the base is under and we might miss it. That is a risk that I’m willing to take since this mission isn’t under any time constraints.” 

Kiba shrugged. “Sounds top. But how come we don’t have a sensor, like that Karin chick with us though? Isn’t she a really good one except is obsessed with you?”

“She’s not cleared,” Sasuke concluded, with no elaboration. 

Tenzo and Sasuke exchanged eye contact with each other at Sasuke’s shifty response since they had gone on a three-man mission with Karin before. But they both concurred that this wasn’t the time to chase up on the manner. 

“Bird?” Sasuke prompted. 

Sakura flexed her gloves, an involuntary move that signified that she was thinking. “I don’t think so. If the clones discover the base but the Ishinin in the base discover the clones, they might pull out and try again another time. Also if they realise it’s a Wood Clone, they would know who is involved in the team.” 

Tenzo straightened, slinging the pack over his shoulders. “If they are on the move, perhaps it would be easier to find them.” 

“Akamaru and I could sniff them down if they are close to us.” Kiba added. 

Sasuke stood up with confidence. “I don’t want any risks of losing them. We’ll continue as planned.” Sasuke concluded while signaling to get into position. 

Sakura, Kiba, Yamato all nodded and fell into the formation. 

Following Sasuke’s lead, they matched his pace. 

Her eyes swept over repetitive foliage with no real interest. Sakura was here for the manpower not for the tracking. 

It had been two head-splittingly boring hours when suddenly, Sasuke gently tapped two fingers on his thighs. 

Warning. 

The team didn’t give any clear exterior indication that they had seen the order, but they all slightly changed their walking style to signify that they saw the message. 

Sasuke crossed his fingers and drew a semicircle in mid-air. 

Engage. 2km. 

Sakura smiled. A rush of adrenaline filled her and she planned the attack in her mind. 

In the past pace they were going, two kilometers was approximately two and a half minutes. 

Sakura ran with an intended accent on her right foot, making a staccato sound. I’ll engage. 

The thumps from people’s steps proved that they understood and agreed to the strategy. 

Sasuke drew a quarter circle in the air. 

1km. 

Drawing a deep breath, Sakura carefully started to channel chakra into her fist, even more than the natural amount that she normally used. This amount usually caused at least a sizable dent in mountains or the movement of hills. 

Three

The team tensed, ready for any ambushes. 

Two

Sasuke dashed forward more to give Sakura more space. 

One

“Sakura!” Sasuke commanded, and the whole team scattered. 

“Got it!” She yelled back 

She drew her chakra charged fists and slammed it on the ground with a satisfying crack. From her fist, the earth began to crumble and the whole floor turned into unstable chunks of dirt. The rubble quivered from the impact and Sakura slammed her fists once again to unearth the ground even more. 

“Wooden Style: Piercing Pillar!” Tenzo yelled. 

From the ANBU’s hand, six strands of woods sprouted out with ferocity and increasing length and pierced through the weakened earth that Sakura had caused. 

It was when she saw Sasuke and his Rinnegan flash for a few seconds and then she knew everything was going wrong. The fact that Rinnegan was out already meant that it went drastically wrong 

She felt the crushing killing intent leaking out from the underground with enormous chakra signature moving around without bothering to hide it. Obviously, Sakura broke some seal when rammed on the floor. 

Strange. Ishinin shouldn't have the skills to create seals to cover this amount of chakra signature 

“Earth Release: Swamp,” Kiba said. Immediately, the earth turned into an ooze and started to drip through the hollow base that was underneath it, and bits of its support started to peak through. 

The team regrouped, ready to face whoever was going to emerge from the base. 

“Wind Release: Gentle Breeze” a gentle voice rang out. The mud all cleared, and a figure jumped gracefully on the surface. 

The way he carried himself already signaled him as a powerful ninja, and the monstrous chakra and the killing intent just cemented it further. “Konoha.” He said amusedly. 

Sakura wearily eyed the figure. He was of average height with a normal ninja built. However, that was where the averageness ended. He was wearing a bright pink traditional attire, complete with a straw hat. His straw and weak sandals dangled from his feet and two swords rested on either side on his hips. 

Dangerous. 

Sasuke stepped forward in front of the whole team with clear authority. He held up his hands, signaling to back away. 

Sakura pulled away, not tearing her gaze away from the Ishinin. His bright pink clothes were almost as bright as Naruto’s old orange clothes which made him feel even more of a threat. Anyone who survived wearing those bright clothes was either a complete newbie or a complete veteran. 

Judging by his predatory smile and the graceful movement, Sakura knew that he was a veteran. 

The tense silence was broken by the shrugging of the Ishinin. “Uchiha Sasuke, the cripple. Nice to meet you.” 

Sakura resisted the urge to smile wide. Obviously, the Ishinin was trying to taunt Sasuke had no idea that Sasuke didn’t care what people called him. It was as if the Ishinin was underestimating Sasuke because of his lack of one arm. How naive. 

“You are trespassing on Konoha’s territory,” Sasuke said, pulling out his sword with an efficient glide. “Identify yourself.” 

The pink clothed nin casually sat upon one of the boulders that used to be a floor and crossed his legs while smiling brightly. “It doesn’t fucking matter does it?” He let out softly. 

Sasuke didn’t react. “This is the last time I’ll ask. Identify yourself.” 

“Why are your friends all standing back? Is Uchiha Sasuke so powerful that his friends will be a burden to him? Oh wait! He doesn’t have any friends because he betrayed his village. You guys must be his parole. The pinkie must be Haruno Sakura, the one with doggie, an Inuzuka and hmm, a random chunin?” The hysterical laugh echoed through the forest as the Ishinin nearly doubled over in laughter. 

One of her favourite things in the world was when opponents underestimated her and her team. She didn’t feel offended at all- it was actually the opposite. She felt glad that the fight will be easier as the person will be caught off guard. Calling Tenzo some random chunin was probably one of the funniest things she had heard from an enemy for a long time. 

It was peculiar that the Ishinin knew Sasuke but not Tenzo’s very unique wood release. That meant that he didn’t actually do his research well- probably because he didn’t care about Konoha enough, suggesting that he harboured no hatred towards Konoha. 

Sakura mused that it was weird because the killing intent and power that the ninja omitted didn’t reflect his immature words. His words sounded like one of a Genin, fuelled by irrational emotion and false ideals of the world. 

Sakura watched as Sasuke squared his sword, a clearly aggressive and offensive stance. Sharingan blazed with the fierce red. 

The Ishinin chuckled. “Alright, alright. We can do that.” He said, then calmly stood up from his spot. 

“Crystal Release: The Gods' Crossings Technique” The Ishinin softly spoke out. 

As the ninja’s hands hit the ground, a long stream of pink sharp crystals shot out with speed. 

Crystal Type. How annoying. Crystal type was rare and people who were proficient at it were even rarer. But there was a big upside in their case. 

Lightning affinity was particularly strong against Crystal since Crystal type is based on Earth affinity. And of course, there Uchiha Sasuke loved his Lightning Jutsus. 

The Uchiha jumped forward, bypassing all the crystals that were forming underneath him, and rammed straight into the Ishinin.

The Ishinin flew back, smashing through trees and Sakura narrowed her eyes as she saw Sasuke still pushing back the Ishinin who was tearing through the trees. 

That wasn’t Sasuke’s style. Sasuke followed the Uchiha style which was based on creating an opening to spam his ninjutsu. He would never follow his opponents through just using brute strength. That was more of Sakura’s field. 

Something was wrong. 

“We need to go.” Sakura said, facing Kiba and Tenzo.

Sakura darted towards the fighting pair, avoiding the bits of debris that were flying in deadly sharp splinters. 

“Crystal: Giant Hexagonal Shuriken!” She heard the ninja yell. In the midst of the dust cloud, a hexagonal white shuriken appeared with sharp edges and Sakura ducked out of the way. 

“Cat.” Sakura said falling next to Sasuke, maintaining the codename enough though it was useless at this point. 

Sasuke nodded in acknowledgment. “He can make a thin layer of crystal to bind you with him if you touch him.” He said. 

“Then Bird should go,” Yamato commented. 

Since the Crystal style can’t crystallise raw chakra, her taijutsu style which included surrounding her hands with controlled raw chakra was incredibly useful. Plus, rushing a crystal user was never a good idea because one faltering combo could give them space to do a large range Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Wall Eighth Formation type of jutsu which enclosed the whole area with the hard to break crystals. 

Dashing forward, Sakura flung several kunai with little paper tags. As the nin easily deflected them with a thin crystal, the paper tag split into pieces and drifted around. 

“Cat!” Sakura shouted, signaling the start of the combo. As expected hints of purple flames started to envelop her, so she brought her hands up in a seal.

With an impish grin, she shouted. “Sakura Fubuki No Jutsu!”

The paper pieces exploded in wild red and yellow flames while Sasuke's purple half-formed skeleton Susanoo wrapped around her as a shield. 

Sakura loved this combo as it was efficient with Sasuke. This was a suicidal offensive jutsu, one that tolerated hurting the opponent at the cost of hurting themselves. Normally, it required her put up an Earth Release shield to shy away from the explosion that cost the precious few seconds. However, when Sasuke put up the shield, she could always be moving. It was glorious. 

Running through the billowing smoke, she drove hard and fast into the Ishinin. 

Her chakra pumped fists squarely landed on the ninja’s chest and Sakura followed through, making sure to drive him through the floor and the ground shuddered, paving a crater. Just by the sensation of the hit, she could tell that she had hit the crystal reinforced part of his chest and she needed more force to take him out. 

“Badger!” She shouted, requesting for Kiba. 

She slammed her feet on his neck and winced as it didn’t even budge. His skin was like a diamond, which was one of the few things she had difficulty smashing into. 

Kiba-Wolf- and Akamaru stood ready. “Tail Chasing Fang Fang Rotating Fang!” 

In the split second, Kiba created a single shadow clone and transformed it into a three-headed, gigantic hound using Human Beast Mixture Transformation - Three-headed Wolf. Then the beast curled into a ball and rolled at a ferocious speed, grinding against the Ishinin. 

The white rotating ball against the ninja made a horrible sound of something grinding, and Sakura assumed that the Ishinin was trying to regenerate the crystal while simultaneously Kiba was burning through them. 

“Wood Release: Four-Pillar Prison Technique!” Tenzo shouted, and instantly, a sturdy wooden block started to form against the struggling figure, trapping them. 

“Crystal Release: Crystal Wheel,” Ishinin said. His voice was so calm with no urgency that it caught Sakura off guard. 

She glanced at Sasuke to confirm her feelings and he looked baffled as well. 

From the rapidly closing wooden prison, the Ishinin emerged with a snow-white wheel placed around him. He stood atop of the wooden structure and dodged just in time as Kiba’s punch went past him. Then Kiba stood next to Sakura, preparing for another attack.

Sakura narrowed her eyes in distaste as the ninja casually stood with an air of grace and elegance. His pink attire was slightly sullied but not enough to dampen the bright pink. It seemed like their barrage of attacks didn’t really affect him. His smile certainty was as arrogant as smug as before. 

“Astounding how slow and boring this fight has been. How about we ramp it up?” He suggested, a voice full of innocence and wonder. 

She felt Sasuke stiffen. “Genjutsu doesn’t work on him.” He informed. 

Interesting. 

There were only a handful of people whom Genjutsu didn’t work. For example, Genjutsu doesn’t work against Shino or any Aburame clan members since their bugs weren’t sophisticated enough to be able to be fooled by a Genjutsu. By saying Genjutsu didn’t work on the Ishinin, that was pretty much saying that he had a Kekkai Genkai. 

Since the Crystal release, which made it that he had two Kekkai Genkai. 

That lucky bastard. 

“Sounds like a good idea.” Kiba’s voice rang out. 

From the half-formed wooden structure that the Ishinin was standing on, Kiba suddenly leaped out with a flurry of kunai. 

Sakura let out a small-time and looked to her right to see the Kiba who was standing next to her transforming back to Akamaru. 

Clever. He managed to henge Akamaru and himself at the last second and switch spots with each other. 

The Ishinin jumped in surprise and backed away to avoid the kunai. 

Tenzo leaped up to support. “Wood Release: Underground Roots Technique.” He said. The tree roots from the surrounding trees bent to his will and its tendrils reached up to catch the Ishinin in the air. 

Sakura and Sasuke were already moving in as the Ishinin just fluidly spun and cut the roots off with his shuriken. 

She felt the steady hum of Sasuke’s chakra next to her and she felt good. She knew that Sasuke would always have her back.

They engaged the ninja and fell into the familiar pattern. Sakura used her monster strength and taijutsu to create an opening for Sasuke who used his proficiency at ninjutsu to neutralise the enemy. 

Sasuke leaped and kicked sparred ninja mid-air, and forced him to come downwards. Even though the Ishinin blocked her attacks, her strength forced him to come down the earth way faster than he anticipated, making him brace for the impact. 

As he hit the ground, the floor crumbled beneath his feet and Sasuke was there, his hands outstretched. 

The sound of crackling electricity filled the air and the blue chakra orb glowed brightly in his hands. 

“Chidori” He shouted.

Sasuke hammered his ninjutsu inside Ishinin’s chest, and Sakura duly noted that it was toned down probably so they could take him alive. After all, there was no point of having this slow and careful battle if Sasuke was just going to finish him off. 

“Sucker!” Ishinin yelled on top of his voice, even while getting impaled. 

A few seconds later, the ninja exploded into bits of crystal. 

Silence filled the air as Sasuke slowly got up, now covered in a thin layer of pink crystal. 

“Crystal Clones.” Tenzo said.

Sakura let out a groan. 

Kiba dropped to the floor. “Fuck.” 

Looking around at the area which was littered with craters on the floor, had a half wooden structure, and a few dozens of smashed trees she let out a big sigh. 

“If his Shadow Clones are that strong, what kind of monster is he?” 

Tenzo sat down next to Kiba. “This explains his cocky attitude. This nin is obviously strong, and the fact that he was a clone means that it didn’t matter what we did to him. 

Sakura nodded. “I felt that weird attitude too. Although we should be glad we didn’t fight for execution because he would’ve seen all our techniques. Like, Taichou didn’t use any of his Amaterasu stuff. Hell he didn’t even participate much since his techniques suck at incapacitating. At least the Ishinin didn’t gather too much intel.” 

Kiba moaned. “I used Tail Chasing Fang Fang Rotating Fang though. How annoying.” He grumbled. 

“We know that the person has a Crystal Release and a Genjutsu-resisting Kekkai Genkai so when we go back, we can identify this person.” Sasuke himself ran fingers through his lock in clear frustration. 

Basically, they’ve just expanded energy on useless tasks and helped the opponent to gather more information about them. 

“Fifteen-minute break and we’re handing back to Konoha. We can’t forgo the possibility that more bases might be there governed by his clones and this is an ANBU unit job. We don’t have enough manpower.” He said. 

“Mm. Is anyone hurt?” Sakura asked. 

Kiba wordlessly held up his arm which had a deep gash. 

“From when the guy did that spinning wheel thing. That thing was sharp man. Akamaru got a little hurt too.” He said. 

Sakura dutifully hovered her hands over, applying the green medical chakra. The bleeding wound started to mend itself and soon enough, it was gone. 

“Come here, Akamaru.” She cooed, and pet his head in delight as the dog approached her. 

Akamaru, bless him, flopped on his belly to show the mangled mess of fur that was tinted red. 

“It’s going to be okay. I’ll heal it right up.” Sakura whispered. One hand scratched his neck for comfort and one hand hovered to heal the shallow cut. Even though a shallow cut, on an animal who was going to run around in the forest meant chance of infection and Sakura wasn’t willing to take a chance. 

Akamaru wiggled underneath her hand as if it tickled but stayed still enough to be healed. 

“You’re free to go!” She said when the gash had closed. 

The dog sprung up and barked in excitement while running circles around her. Sakura laughed at his behaviour and gave another pat. 

“Thanks for the cover back there,” Sakura said, lightly bumping her legs against Sasuke’s. 

Sasuke smirked. “Of course.” He merely replied.

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Don’t be too humble Sasuke.” She replied sarcastically.

The Uchiha stretched. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He said. Then with slight hesitance, asked a question. “How much chakra do you have left?” 

Sakura raised her eyebrows in a questioning manner. She had known Sasuke long enough to understand why he was asking the question.

With a sigh, she crossed her arms. “Where?” 

Sasuke held his head up high stubbornly. “Answer the question.” 

“I have enough. Enough to heal you and run to Konoha.” Sakura answered easily. 

Sakura tried not to laugh at Sasuke’s surprised face when she summed up what he was thinking. 

“Not too severe. When the crystal clone burst, I blocked most of it, but a chunk hit me.” He replied with somewhat sheepishness- well as much sheepishness he could put in with the usual arrogance. 

“Where?” She insisted. 

Grunting, Sasuke pulled his white coloured steel armour plate off. Sakura saw the glistening in the black fabric, indicating blood. 

“Off,” she commanded. 

As much as she tried to be professional, she couldn’t deny a slight fluttering feeling when Sasuke pulled his shirt off.

She took a calming breath, telling herself that she was a nurse; a professional. 

Sasuke’s well-toned body is just the norm. Sasuke doesn’t look hot at all. I just need to heal him. Stop staring at him. She told herself firmly. 

Her green glowing hands hovered over his stomach, and she could feel the muscle twitch underneath her fingers. She briefly wondered how it would feel to trace over the curves of the muscle, and how it would feel to be skin-to-skin contact against it. 

It was with almost a bitter thought that Sasuke affected her this much. Sakura had seen many male phalli in surgeries, many more pantless hot ninja males, and even more shirtless well-toned bodies. It came with the job description of a med-nin. But none of them caused any stirring in her. Not like how Sasuke did. 

She tried not to look up and meet Sasuke’s gaze but stared hard at where the pink half translucent crystal had pierced the Uchiha. 

It was with utter relief that she declared that he was fully healed. 

She gave a hopefully strong and casual smile at Sasuke, and the man inclined his head in a gesture of thanks. 

Eager to snap out of her thoughts which was steering itself into the very wrong, unrealistic territory, she hastily turned to Tenzo. “Are you hurt anywhere?” 

Tenzo shook his head. “No. Thanks for the concern.” He said. 

She looked away from Sasuke when he put the gear back on- she valued her heart. 

“We should get going,” Sasuke said. 

Nodding, they fell into the familiar formation once again. 

And with Sasuke’s hand signal, they headed towards the village.


	3. sasuke POV

Sasuke sat in the office chair, hair slightly damp from the shower, blinking at the blond idiot in front of him. The blond was sprawled across his desk with literal stacks of paper towering over him. 

“Dobe.” He called out curtly. 

The blond snapped up in surprise. “Sasuke!” He exclaimed while rubbing his eyes. 

Sasuke sighed. It sometimes seemed miraculous that the village was functioning. “I’m here to give a report.” 

Naruto leaned back in the chair to stretch. “What's so important that you had to give a verbal one?” 

Sasuke stood up and pulled a privacy seal from his desk. Seeping little bit of chakra in the seal, he sound proofed the office. 

Seeing the precautions that he was taking, Naruto straightened up. His posture changed from one of a relaxed fool to an alert and almost dangerous charismatic leader. 

“We have uncovered a hidden base. Identity was not shown. The only occupant was a ninja who wore a neon pink traditional attire and used Crystal Style. Genjutsu proved to be useless against him so it was suggested that he has two Kekkai Genkai.” He explained.

Naruto whistled in awe. “Two? I haven't seen someone with two Kekkai Genkai besides Mai-San.” 

Sasuke nodded. “We didn't deploy any lethal force because our plan was to capture him alive for interrogation. However, when I was neutralising him, it turned out he was a clone.” 

Naruto looked flabbergasted, and Sasuke refused to react to it. “You're kidding.” 

“No. I recommend employing a full ANBU squad to sweep to see if there are any more bases occupied by his clones.” 

Naruto groaned. “Shikamaru and I were talking about launching an attack on Ishigakure for ages but I swear everytime we try to prepare for it, something else takes priority.” 

Sasuke mused that Sakura was dead on with her prediction. 

“I think we’re gonna ask for Suna’s help. I hear Ishigakure is trying funny business there too.” 

Sasuke tilted his head. Gaara would undoubtedly be happy to help Naruto in any matters, which meant two villages in Shinobi Nation were gathering to attack another village- one with alliances with Iwa. He could already see a disaster happening. 

“We’re thinking of you and Sakura for the Konoha’s artillery first to scope this out and if it doesn't work, we’re gonna ask Suna.” 

Sasuke ignored the small burst of happiness as he imagined being on a mission with just Sakura and him. “Hn.” 

Naruto shrugged, responding to his unvoiced question. “It's going to be four squad at max and two people at min. We want to be stealthy and pretend like we weren't involved in it. That's what Shikamaru said anyways.” 

“Sakura and I will be fine with ourselves.” Sasuke slowly started. “Our teamwork is immaculate.” 

Naruto smiled goofily. “I know. Talking about teamwork, we need to spar, just the three of us sometimes.” 

Sasuke nodded. The Team 7 spars were one of the best ones, especially when they went all out. The collateral damage was enough to wipe out a decent chunk of a forest- which they found out the hard way. A small fleeting smile passed him as he remembered Sakura punching hard enough to actually cause a minor earthquake in the area. 

“Anyways, I think maybe Temari as your support will be nice if it happens,” Naruto suggested. 

Sasuke shook his head. “Her fight style is not very compatible with ours.” 

The blond Hokage nodded. “You think just two of you is enough?” 

Sasuke gave a smirk. “More than enough.” 

Naruto met his smirk with a bigger confident smile. “Of course. It sucks that I can't go.” 

The Uchiha felt slightly unfortunate about the lack of Team 7 missions but really, he was just glad to be on a mission with Sakura. Their duo missions always consisted of mass destruction and fun. Not to mention that Sakura was nice to be around. 

Naruto tossed the mission scroll to him, which he caught with ease. 

“Leave when you want to. It's not urgent and I want you to have plenty of rest before going.” 

Sasuke resisted the urge to give a mock salute at the commandeering tone that Naruto had, but just gave a slight wave. “I'll tell Sakura about the mission. Don't forget to send us a wedding invitation.” 

As he turned to head out, he heard Naruto’s indignant splutter. “H-Hinata and I are not getting married, Teme!” 

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto’s flustered tone. Anyone with eyes could see that they were ready to get married but apparently Naruto was still nervous about the concept. 

At least, he could be worried about a wedding.

Sasuke was just worried that Sakura would discover his feelings. 

Sasuke had rejected her until he came back for Konoha for good where the emotions hit him like a truck. Previously in his head, Sakura was this whining fangirl; however, Sasuke saw that that wasn't the case anymore. The girl had blossomed into a fierce ninja. Sakura’s determination, sparkling passion, smiles, and the ridiculously strong punches all seem just attractive. 

A hopeful part of him wished that Sakura still had feelings towards him but he knew it was unlikely. Sasuke was a traitor to a village and Sakura probably moved on from him. He knew that he should do the decent thing and keep his feelings hidden- not break their dynamic. 

Sasuke ran across the roofs, going down the well worn-track. Spotting the familiar house, he stopped the slide through the window. 

The delicious scent of lavender, Sakura and food mingled through the air. 

He walked into the kitchen and spotted Sakura’s form. 

She was standing over a boiling pot with an oversized t-shirt and her hair hanging loose. He felt the ridiculous urge to tuck her stray stand behind her ear. 

A throb of emotion current through Sasuke as he saw the Uchiha fan logo on the shirt. Even though he knew it was just a shirt he gave to her when they were out on a mission, seeing her like this made a possessive streak flourish. 

“Sasuke.” Sakura acknowledged. Her voice was smooth and light, helping him become less tense. 

“Sakura.” He replied back, sitting on the corner of the couch, the spot he always took. 

Sakura grunted. “If you're dragging me out to another mission right now, I'm going to politely refuse.” She deadpanned. 

Sasuke felt slightly guilty about his past actions. When he had forcibly woken Sakura up, half of him wanted to apologise and let her have a well-deserved sleep. Her normally active personality was replaced by sleepy haze and Sasuke didn't feel comfortable taking that away from her. 

But a mission was a mission, and Sasuke didn't regret taking Sakura along. She was always great company. Just her presence lit up the whole team and increased cohesion. As she was good in most fields, she could span out many combos with other people. 

Sasuke merely tossed the mission scroll at her. 

She caught it with grace and unfolded it to start reading. 

“Mission Objective: Clear Ishigakure.” 

Then she looked up, a smile blossomed on her face. That was so warm, so innocent that made Sasuke inhale a quick startling breath. 

Sakura continued. “Ensure Ishigakure would no longer be a threat. ANBU clearance. An approval on destruction and whoa, huge budget. “

Sasuke tried not to smile at her contagious excitement. It didn't help that he was getting hyped up about a mission alone with Sakura. 

The pink haired girl stirred the udon- judging by how it smelled- in the pot. “It has no time limit I see, and I would prefer if we leave next week.” 

Sasuke tried not to pout. Unlike him, it seemed like she wasn't keen to go on a solo mission with him. “Hn.” He grunted. Disappointment pooled in his stomach, but he reminded himself that Sakura didn’t like him back. 

“Don't be grumpy. I just have to check up on the genin team in a hospital, finish the medical report that's due, help Naruto with the civilian meeting- that one’s four days away and they requested me specifically so I can't back out of it.” She explained while pouring the noodles into the bowl. 

Sasuke tried not to grin. The fact that she fitted this mission into her busy time schedule instead of referring to someone else probably meant that she liked him. At least as friends. 

“Four days. After the meeting.” He replied. 

Sakura settled down next to him, placing the piping hot bowl in her hands. He couldn't help but notice how adorable she was with an Uchiha shirt while eating with vigor. It just felt like she was his, and if they were married. Oh, how I wish. 

“Six.” She retorted with a mouthful of noodles. 

Sasuke frowned. “Five.” He said in a definitive voice. 

“Fine, we’re leaving in five days.” She replied. 

“Don't be grumpy.” He repeated back to her with a slight bit of smugness. 

Sasuke laughed. “Says you, the epitome of grumpiness.” 

He watched as Sakura finished her food and languidly stretched on the couch like a cat. Her smooth muscles rippled through her limbs, and Sasuke tried not to let his eyes wander. Gods. Knowing that those smooth angled legs could easily move to kill someone added to his appreciation of the limbs. 

“Also, it's Neji’s funeral tomorrow,” Sakura said softly. 

Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned against the couch. The Hyuuga. It was a sore memory for everyone who was involved in the war. Just his name brought up the memories, painful and horrific. 

He glanced at Sakura, gauging her reaction. “Ah.” 

“You know what that means.” 

“Naruto and Hinata.” 

Sakura nodded. “We’ll have to relieve them for a day.” 

Sasuke grunted. Hinata would be organising the funeral as always, and Naruto would be moping around, not able to perform competently in his job. It was somewhat a tradition for Sakura and/or Sasuke to relieve Naruto for a day. 

“That idiot,” Sasuke remarked. Being a Hokage of a day was demanding and absolutely boring. It was meeting after meeting and paperwork after paperwork. They tended to split with Sakura doing the paperwork - she was used to doing it since she was the Hokage’s apprentice, and Sasuke handled the meeting because most people backed out knowing Sasuke’s short fuse. 

Well, at least, there was comfort in the fact that tomorrow would be filled with Sakura and her warmth. 

Sakura flicked on the tv while moving to rest her head on his lap. 

A distant chatter of a documentary of animals came on as Sakura rubbed her head against his legs, presumably trying to find a comfortable spot. 

Her mess of pink soft hair tousled against his leg and he had a strong urge to stroke it, and follow to caress Sakura’s features. Her green eyes blinked sluggishly in fatigue. 

Her presence, warmth and pulse made Sasuke want to pull her closer, put his arms around and claim her as his. He wanted her to smile at him, the brilliant radiant smile. 

God, I'm a sappy mess. I'm like Naruto. Oh god.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration if he said he stared at Sakura the whole time until her eyes drooped closed- and that just proved his previous statement. 

Sakura’s breathing softened and he could feel her relaxed form against him. 

Utter show of trust. 

It scared him shitless. When Naruto and Sakura accepted him with complete faith in him, Sasuke was uncomfortable. 

He felt scrutinised by them; as if he didn't deserve their forgiveness. He had literally driven their team apart, stampeded on their chances to climb the ranks- it was a well-known fact that it's harder to be promoted as an individual- and broke their hearts over and again. 

But here he was, with Sakura sleeping peacefully on his lap. 

And Sasuke would do anything to keep it this way. 

***

“Tea?” Sasuke asked with an obviously false front of friendliness. 

The civilians looked clearly wealthy. The woman darted her eyes left and right as if trying to escape this situation. The man, however, stood with pride and arrogance. 

“Yes please.” The man replied. 

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Too bad. Now I've read your submission, Takino.” 

The man leaned back on the chair, his hands grasping around his belt, where his knife would've been if he wasn't required to unarm himself in the office. 

“I think it's a reasonable ask.” He grunted out, then jabbed the side of his companion to contribute. 

The women flinched, but still refused to look at Sasuke. “I-It’s just that we know that the current Hokage is a Kyuubi. We just want to make sure he's… Good.” She said, with an attempt of a friendly smile. 

Sasuke gave a frosty glare. “Good?” He repeated. 

“Make sure he ain't gonna kill us.” The man said slowly and condescendingly. 

Sasuke pinched his nose, not sure how to deal with this batch of idiots. Should he start with how Naruto isn't Kyuubi but is the host? Was he supposed to start with how they were in no position to ask this kind of demand? Should he tell them Naruto was within his right to kill them in breach of his honour?

However, instead of trying to educate the clearly self-important couple, Sasuke merely stamped a red denied stamp. “He's busy.” Sasuke merely replied. “Request denied. Please leave-” 

Enraged, the man stood up. “I just want to fuckin’ see the demon! Why can't I?” He bellowed, holding the decorative paperweight and seemingly ready to throw it at Sasuke. 

Yes, Sasuke knew these types of people. These types of people who thought of themselves as very important, influential and powerful. Who thinks yelling at people works as an intimidation target. Naive civilians 

The woman stood still, obviously not sure what to do. 

“Because Naruto is the Hokage and he's busy dough trade negotiations with other villages. That should make it so the taxes on imports from Suna is cheaper. By seeing him, you're stealing time away from him and making the trade negotiations worse. Now, leave or I will make you leave.” Sasuke replied. 

What he said was a half-truth. Naruto was indeed busy doing the free trade and embargoes with other nations but him resting wouldn't really make the negotiations worse. The brains behind the actual legislation were Shikamaru and his team. Naruto was just there for power and convenience. 

However, by talking about trade-the man’s profession, Sasuke knew that the man would be placated. A brief flip through the file revealed he work as a food importer, specifically from Suna. 

The man slowly lowered the golden paperweight in a nod of approval , “I see. The brat better do a good job.” Then turning to his wife, continued. “Let's go.” 

The wife gave a swift bow and a stuttering remark of thanks as she followed her husband. 

Letting out a huge sigh Sasuke let himself collapse on the chair. 

Perhaps the sad thing was that these weren't the first people of this kind. Sasuke’s day was filled with people’s petty requests. Some were good, like restoring the lightning conductor in this office, but most of them were horrendous. 

It was only 12am, two hours into the job, but he already hated everyone. Except one. 

“Paperwork.” The voice of the only person he could endure today carried from the hall. 

Sakura poked her head in, grabbing the submission paper. “I think we should Katon these papers after work.” She said conversationally. 

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. “Obstructing official documents?” 

“Shishou used to do that all the time as stress relief.” 

Sasuke snorted. That sounded very much like something Tsunade would do and truthfully, he wouldn't be surprised if Tsunade “accidentally” set stuff on fire. “Of course.” 

“Do you want to do that after dinner?” 

Sasuke grunted in response. 

Sakura winked. “It's a date!” She said in a joking tone and went out presumably to sort the paper. 

Sasuke sat still, flabbergasted. He hated how his heart leaped at the statement in excitement- as if he didn't understand that it was a joke. As if they didn't hang out- just the two of them- all the time. As if he was a love sick puppy. 

He hated how he wished that it was actually a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading the commenting. This is my first story in ao3 and I'm blown away at how positive the feedbacks are! This is a little filler chapter from Sasuke's POV so the real chapter will be up very soon. 
> 
> The pairings are sakura x sasuke, naruto x hinata rn but I am open to more suggestions (same sex or hetero) so please, leave comments down below. If you have a particular prompt, I'll make sure to fulfil it as well. Thanks again!


	4. Chapter 4

“Shoo.. “Sakura mumbled as she spotted the male while making a fanning gesture. Her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance but really, she was too tired to be even annoyed. 

The dark haired man sitting on the couch looked up from the scroll he was reading and merely frowned at her. “I was under the impression that we were going to plan our mission tonight.” 

Sakura let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Mika’s infection started to fester and we couldn’t treat her with antibiotics in case of an aneurysm. I had to perform brain surgery and assure Lee that his youthful student will last.” 

Instead of putting her stuff away in a neat pile, the pink haired medic crawled towards Sasuke and tumbled down the couch, her bag falling down next to her. Her whole entire body ached and it honestly felt like a headless chicken was running around and crashing in her brain- pressing all her pain receptors. 

She was supposed to come home around nine to plan the basic rough idea of infiltration of Ishigakure except brain surgeries meant that she was home at one thirty in the morning without her  _ own  _ brain functioning properly.

Sasuke didn't sound too happy about that. 

“The first objective is to confirm that Ishigakure is intentionally planning the attacks on us, and if so, why-” Sasuke continued on relentlessly even though Sakura had her face buried on the couch. 

She let out an unintelligible gurgle of noise that was a cross between an acknowledgement and a curse word. 

“I’ve gone to Shikamaru to consult basic attack plans and to gather the topography of the area. The suggestion from him is for us to come across as weaponry mercenaries who are looking for opportunities to spread their business, especially a part of the fundamental backbone of a nation, supplying their artillery.”

The words seem to slur and come together in Sakura’s brain as the smooth voice with authoritative accents continues talking. As much as Sakura appreciated the silkiness drifting her to sleep, she knew that she should be paying attention to what he was saying, rather than to just enjoy the intonations. “Tomorrow?” Sakura whined slightly with a hit of utter weariness leaking in her voice. 

Sasuke exhaled an “Hn” and Sakura smiled. Old, cold Sasuke would’ve continued droning on about the mission, probably feeding her coffee or some semblance of energy source to keep her listening and giving feedback. But this older, warmer Sasuke went quiet. One would say that Sasuke was  _ considerate.  _

“Go to bed.” He let out gruffly. 

It was sweet to hear Sasuke masking his concern with a cover of uncaring. Sakura attempted to shift herself to see if she could carry herself to bed but her body refused to move. 

Impending tiredness started to fog her brain as the world in her mind started to blob together in the truly almost hallucinatory manner that occurred in the lack of sleep. “Shhhh.” Sakura reprimanded Sasuke to hush while curling into a comfortable position next to him. 

She could feel the warmth radiating from the dark-haired man and resisted the urge to cuddle into him. After all, from spending missions that required extreme close contact for body heat, she knew exactly how he felt and how he smelled. She clearly remembered how his musky scent brought a kick of happiness in her system. Although in missions the musky smell was combined with blood, it didn’t faze her. The smell of blood was something that was almost ingrained in every competent ninja. The emotions and senses swirled together and soon descended into darkness.

* * *

“Sakura!” A clear voice rang out, and she turned around to face a green spandex ninja sitting in the waiting room.

With an amiable smile shifting to her face, Sakura waved. “Hello, Lee.” 

The green ninja bounced across with incredible speed. “Are you going to check on Mika right now? How is she? Last time I saw her, her flames of youth were still burning bright.” Lee jumbled the words out with cheerfulness that blinded his worry. 

Sakura had no doubts that Lee was kicked out of his Genin team member’s hospital room and he was trying to sneak back to the room with her to check on Mika. Lee was probably waiting for Sakura so he can be allowed in. “They haven’t paged me, which suggests that she’s doing fine. Her condition was stable when I left.” 

Lee seemed to have difficulty walking the casual stroll pace Sakura was walking and looked like he was itching to walk faster. “Extremely good!” 

“Alright Lee, you can go see her but remember that she needs  _ rest  _ and  _ peace,” _ Sakura emphasised, waggling her fingers as if teaching a lesson. 

The green spandex wearing ninja smiled brightly, his teeth gleaming. “Of course! If I cannot give rest and peace, I will do ten thousand pushups!” He declared loudly. 

“Of course.” She said, squeezing Lee’s arm to reassure the skittish man. She knew that he was deathly worried about his genin member. Mika was in a truly bad shape, the only reason that she was still alive was due to Lee’s first aid skills and his incredible speed back to the hospital. “She has a good Jounin teacher; she’ll be fine.” 

They soon arrived at the main desk and Lee restlessly shifted as she passed the receptionist. “He’s with me, don’t worry.” She chimed before the receptionist could remind him that it was not visitor's hours yet. 

“You have my utmost gratitude!” Lee whispered loudly, presumably not to disturb the other patients. 

Sakura smiled, “You’re welcome.” 

Arriving at the hospital door, Lee ran into the room. “My student!” He exclaimed dramatically. “How are you feeling?” 

The brown-haired girl was drowned in the sea of white blankets and hospital equipment. She looked small and fragile. 

“Hi Rock-sensei. I’m good.” She said. Her voice seemed hoarse but the cheery smile reassured Sakura that the girl was still okay. 

As Lee hovered over Mika, Sakura grabbed the clipboard chart in front of her bed. “Hey Mika. I’m just going to check up on you, okay?” 

Mika nodded. “Hi Sakura-neesan. You look really cool as a nurse too.” 

A smile passed her. “Thank you, I’m not always sparring you know.” She said affectionately while pressing a stethoscope to her heart. “Breath in; breath out” she instructed. 

The air whooshing was normal, as did her steady heartbeat. 

“It was awesome when you sparred with Rock-sensei and kicked his  _ butt  _ last week!” She cackled while throwing her hands up for effect but wincing at the movement. 

“Whoa whoa, take it easy.” Sakura tried. 

Lee nodded. “Sakura did indeed win. Her fists were deadly and I misjudged her prowess in genjutsu. My honourable student, I am filled with joy that you enjoyed our display of effort!” He put one thumb up and smiled the classic Lee smile. 

“Of course, Lee. Now Mika, how are you feeling?” 

“My head feels really light and my arm hurts.” She said, showing her casted right arm. 

Sakura scribbled down the information. “Lightheadedness is from anaesthesia and it’ll go away with time. I can help you with the arm though.” 

She prompted Mika to extend her arm. While attuning her chakra, she poured her chakra into Mika, numbing the area. The slightly stressed lines in Mika disappeared and she seemed more relaxed. “Thanks.” 

“Nurse Higame will come over to give you a full scan, but it seems like you’re healing nicely and there’s no source of concern.” 

Lee smiled. “Thank you, Sakura!” 

“No problem, I have to get going now. If any situation arises, I’ll be here.” 

“Are you going to see Sasuke-san?” Mika asked almost mirthfully. 

Sakura placed the chart back in the bed. “Yeah, we’re meeting to plan a meeting.” 

“I sincerely hope that Sasuke will profess with inner feelings to you.” Lee deadpanned. 

“Cheeky Lee.” She replied childishly. “Please go home when the visitor’s hours end.” She reminded. 

* * *

“I may just dye my hair blue. Do you think blue suits me?” Sakura asked. Her pink hair was pretty recognisable and definitely was better off changed for the mission.

“No.” 

Sakura smiled. “Then it’s set! Blue it is. What’s your plan, Sasuke?” 

“Eyepatch on the left eye.” 

She nodded. Obviously, using a henge in a mission like these was risky since henges depleted chakra. Therefore, Sasuke had to hide his recognisable eyes somehow. 

Sasuke flipped through the scrolls, brows furrowed in concentration. “Recite our cover.” 

“You are Sasuke Aoki, a retired ninja who is now a mercenary selling ninja weapons. You used to be a Iwa nin. I am Sakura Sato, a civilian whose parents used to be ninja but both died on a mission when I was thirteen. You took me in and we’ve been selling weapons together for eight years.” 

Sasuke nodded in confirmation. “Recite our plan?” 

“We will make contact with some ninja, do some spying to figure out their missions and plans. If they planned to strike Konoha, we would gather some dirty secret from them and try to solve this problem diplomatically. If they don’t play nice, we eradicate their village.” 

It was perhaps a little presumptuous of them to think that they could eradicate a whole hidden village to an outsider. But if the fact that this hidden village was very small, coupled with the sheer strength of Sasuke and Sakura was factored, it was completely possible. Sasuke’s Amaterasu alone would ensure insane amounts of destruction. Sakura’s monstrous strength could easily crush buildings and at least incapacitate everyone in the building. It was easier than trying to solve it diplomatically. 

But Sasuke and Sakura both agreed that diplomatically was the way to go. The “eradicate the village” line was something of a formality, an ultimate plan Z which they had no intention of deploying. They had no want to destroy innocent lives- someone's mother, father, sister. 

“Good. We should change appearance now so we can get used to it and it looks more authentic.” Sasuke looked up to face her. “Why do you look so worried?” 

_ Do I? _

Sakura stared back into the onyx eyes. “I do?” She questioned back. Yes, she was worried about Mika but she didn’t think it was that clear to read. Lee certainly didn’t pick it up.

Sasuke just grunted. 

Taking that as a cue, she started speaking. “Well, I went to check up on Mika and she said that her arm was hurting. That’s pretty strange since I clearly remember pumping her with a lot of anaesthetics but I still had to apply numbing chakra to her. I think there’s something wrong but I’m not sure what.” 

“Do you want to go back to check up on her?”

“What about our mission planning?” 

Sasuke let down the scroll about Ishigakure’s topography. “We still have a while until we have to start the mission.” 

The black haired male grabbed his coat and shrugged it on. “Let’s go.” He urged in his stoic tone. 

Sakura smiled. Underneath the pretence of lack of care, Sasuke had noticed that she was worried and trying to reduce her worry. 

“Thanks, Sasu-chan.” She said playfully while reaching up to give a brief hug. The pure scent of  _ Sasuke  _ mingled with the smell of forest seeped in. Sasuke’s arm lightly touched her back in a gesture of reassurance. 

“Don’t call me that.” He growled slightly in her ear. A small shiver went through her as his breath tickled her. 

“I will call you whatever I want Sasu-chan.” She growled back playfully, pulling away. 

“Hn.” He merely exhaled, probably knowing that raising this issue more will do no good, but actually make Sakura want to tease him more. 

Sakura bumped his shoulder affectionately. “Really, thank you, Sasuke.” She said more earnestly. Sasuke was showing an uncharacteristic amount of leniency. The Uchiha was a very work-oriented person and for him to give this time for her to go check up on Mika was astounding. 

It showed how much he cared about her. 

Utterly sweet. 

An almost unstoppable glow of happiness brightened inside her; and with a smile, she led Sasuke back to the hospital. 

  
  


* * *

Mika smiled brightly at her. “It doesn’t hurt anymore!” She exclaimed, wiggling her arm. Sakura internally sighed, relieved. It could’ve gone terribly if she didn’t come back to check. 

Sakura kept a professional look of reassurance. “That’s good! You have to tell the doctor if it hurts, okay? Lee will have my neck if we don’t take care of you.” 

The girl gave a cheeky grin. “It'll be fun to watch you and Lee-sensei spar. If you don’t behave, I might just complain to sensei.” 

“Save me, Mika! I bow the tremble under your enormous power!” Sakura said dramatically, pinching the girl’s cheek lightly. There was a semblance of colour in her cheeks now, and she looked much livelier than before. It was heartbreaking to see the energetic girl drown in the white hospital sheets. 

There was a grunt next to her, reminding her that she had an agenda to attend. “Patience, Sasuke.” She chided softly. 

Mika giggled. “It’s like you’re an Inuzuka, taming Sasuke-san.” 

Sasuke stood stoically and raised a single eyebrow. “How quaint.” 

Rolling her eyes, she batted him lightly on his arm. “Don’t be such a grump.” 

“We have a mission.” Sasuke merely retorted. He glanced at the door which was a universal sign of  _ let’s leave.  _ “She has a platoon of doctors and  _ Lee  _ at her disposal. She’s going to be fine. Tsunade returned today as well.” 

_ Fair point. But..  _ Sakura looked at the girl. _ Shisho will be here soon so Mika will be fine.  _ She reassured herself again. “Okay, okay. Mika, take care!” 

As they both left the hospital and walked down the corridor away from her room, Sasuke spoke first. “You looked panicked.”

Sakura rubbed her arms, slightly tingly from the chakra use. “She had a forming blood clot in her arm. It would’ve been very  _ very  _ fatal if I was late. I wrote it on the charts for Shisho to see so it should be fine.”

“So we can leave?”

“Yes, yes. It’s 19:30 right now, so front gate 20:00?” Sakura asked. 

She was met with silence as Sasuke immediately Shuushinned away. 

Sakura smiled. Unlike her boys, she enjoyed taking time in her life to just walk around and see around Konoha. 

Her boys.

They’ve grown so much in the past few years. Naruto, finally a Hokage and about to become married. Sasuke somehow warms himself back into her heart. He used to feel so far but now, he was human. Almost  _ too  _ human. 

It was odd seeing her crush, her role model suddenly brought down to the human plane. For the longest time she had thought that Sasuke was the best ninja in the world- and although to a point that was true, Sasuke still had his faults- and the coolest person in the world. Now, Sasuke was so real.  _ Her  _ Sasuke who liked onigiri with pickled tomatoes was someone who was tough only to hide his insecurities. Maybe it was the years spent working in the hospital with people which gave her the insight. 

When she was younger, she used to think Sasuke being silent was so cool and made him so superior. Now she knew that it was because Sasuke was a little socially inept and didn’t know what to say. But now with her, Sasuke was different. He was friendly and actually talked. 

Ten years ago Sakura had dreamed of this situation for the longest time. But it was now that she knew how to truly enjoy it. 

* * *

They had been running for four hours when they finally broke through the constant forage near Konoha.

A two man squad wasn’t Konoha style, but that was exactly what Sasuke and Sakura were hoping for- deception was key to ninja tactics, afterall. 

Finally, when they arrived at a flat piece of terrain, Sasuke raised his two fingers up, signalling the long-awaited rest.

“We should try to break into Konoha sometimes.” Sakura mused, slowing down and unceremoniously sitting on the floor. Her legs felt like they were still walking, but she knew that would pass. 

“I’m sure you could break through if you really wanted to.” 

Sakura snorted. “Only through brute force. I’m sure you could break through in secret Uchiha-style.” 

As Sasuke sat next to her, Sakura channelled refreshing chakra into her legs and unto Sasuke. The man stretched his legs for good measure. 

“Hn.” Uchiha-nese for thanks. 

“I hope Naruto and Hinata don't get married until we come back. It would  _ suck  _ to miss their wedding.” 

Sasuke fell silent, and Sakura wondered if she said anything wrong. Maybe Sasuke likes Hinata? That was absurd though, Sasuke had never shown interest in anyone- man or woman. Sakura knew that Sasuke wasn’t well-versed in sexual matters as the Uchiha would be uncharacteristically shy when the topic rose up. 

“Do you think you’ll ever get married?” 

“...I hope so.” Sasuke was looking far beyond the rocky mountains ahead. Sakura tried to see where Sasuke was looking as if that would help her understand what he was thinking. The slight wistful expression on the man’s face made her curse her words. 

“I mean, you have to because you want to revive your clan right? Sorry, I wasn’t saying that you  _ can’t  _ get married, I was just wondering if you wanted to. I guess I knew that because your whole goal from day one was to make an Uchiha Clan.” She mumbled on. 

_ Of course,  _ Sasuke wanted a family. His family was shred to pieces in front of him and he killed his only brother. It was only a logical leap to think that Sasuke wanted to feel that bond again. Sakura asking the questions probably made him realise what he’s missing out on. 

“My goal isn’t to revive my clan anymore.” Sasuke said. 

Sakura couldn’t help but whip around to stare at the raven-haired man.  _ What?  _

“B-but isn’t that literally what you wanted your whole life?” 

Sasuke turned around to meet Sakura’s eyes, revealing an one single onyx eye. Soon, the red started to bleed out revealing the Sharingan. 

“I just want to enjoy this moment.” 

_ Sasuke is memorising this moment.  _ Sakura realised. The Sharingan was there so he could remember this moment forever. This moment with Sakura sitting next to her. This was more emotion than Sakura saw Sasuke display in his lifetime. 

Sakura opened her mouth to joke but immediately closed it. Sasuke was going to remember his moment. So Sakura chose to merely smile back at him. “I’m glad you’re back, Sasuke.” 

To her surprise, the Uchiha smiled at her. “Me too, Sakura.” 

As the man stood up unpacking his gear, Sakura’s head was now filled with thousands of questions. 

_ What just happened?  _

Sakura’s hand instinctively followed the Team Leader’s move and she also unrolled her sleeping pack. 

It was something else to realise that Sasuke’s life long dream of revenge and reinstating the Uchiha clan was gone. That was  _ who  _ Sasuke was and now it was just gone leaving this relaxed Sasuke. 

Sakura watched as Sasuke grabbed the logs around them and made a fireplace. Compared to before, Sasuke felt so normal and human. Back then when Sasuke did not hold back on his attacks to kill, Sakura remembered the cold and impersonal chakra around him but now it felt warm. 

“I’ll take the first watch.” Sasuke said. 

Sakura knew she needed to sleep and not distract the nightwatch, but they were in Konoha, no need for secrecy or extreme concern. Instead of slipping into the sleeping bag, Sakura sat next to Sasuke in front of the fire. 

“I meant what I said Sasuke, I’m really glad you’re back.” 

“Considering the amount of time you and Naruto chased me, I would hope that you’re glad.” Sasuke said with a smirk. 

Sakura rolled your eyes. “Don’t think of yourself as  _ too  _ special. You were pretty easy to catch.” 

“We must be remembering the events differently. I believe I came back in my own volition.” 

“As ninjas, the best tactics are subtle. We just subtly annoyed you to come back to the village .” 

Sasuke shrugged. “The only reason Naruto isn’t doing now that is because of his Hokage duties.” 

“All part of your master plan.” Sakura deadpanned. “All this time, it was just to make Naruto Hokage.” 

“I see that now you’re so tired that you’re spouting nonsense. Go to sleep, Sakura.” The Uchiha replied while poking the fire. 

Sakura laughed but complied, getting into the sleeping bag. She stole a glance at the Uchiha. The fire was lighting up his face in a way that highlighted his jaw making him look unfairly attractive. The golden glow of the fire made him look softer and less pale. 

“G’night Sasuke.” 

“Hn.” 

Sakura couldn’t remember falling asleep. She drifted away in the warmth and comfort of her sleeping bag, knowing that Sasuke would protect her. 

* * *

She jolted awake to the sound of a sword being drawn next to her. In a split second, Sakura shot up scanning the area. Sasuke was standing up next to her, his sword in a defensive position. The sky was still pitch black and only the wisps of smoke was coming out of the fireplace. 

“Someone’s here. 11 o’clock. 10 meters.”

Sakura scanned the area but found no one. 

“Underground bunker? Ishigakure?  _ Here _ ?” They were literally middle of nowhere in the rocks but she guessed that middle of nowhere made a good hiding space. 

“Likely.” 

“Lucky!” Sakura whispered back. She was worried that at the previous mission, they didn’t find the bunker they were looking for but someone they had stumbled upon it in the most unlikely of times.

Sakura took a deep breath and tightening the glove on her hands. “On three.” 

“One.” 

She channelled the chakra to her fists. 

“Two.” 

She channelled the chakra to her feet. 

“Three!” 

With a triumph cry, Sakura blasted the chakra letting her propel forward at an insane speed. The rocks under her crumbled away from the pressure. Sakura raised her fists up, and focusing all her strength in a single point, punched down on the floor.

_ Crash!  _

From the point where her fists hit, the stone began to crack away, groaning in almost protest. Sakura smiled watching the ground upturn probably revealing whatever was inside. She let herself be thrown back by her own force, making sure to secure distance. 

Only a dust storm remained where she punched. Sasuke stood in front of her, one arm stretched out with a sword and the other stretched out to cover Sakura. 

When the dust finally cleared away, Sakura could clearly see the damage she had done. The originally flat ground was now sporting a massive crater. Not her best handiwork but enough to show if anyone was hiding under there. 

A moment passed with no response and Sasuke stepped forward. He held up a fist, signalling Sakura to stay behind. 

Although she was curious about the bunker, Sakura turned to face the forage behind her, making sure that no one was coming and attacking from behind. As a ninja from Konoha, knowing that the woods were behind her made her feel more comfortable. Afterall, they were the village of the leaf. 

“Cleared.” Sasuke said. 

Not able to quash her curiosity any longer, Sakura walked to the crater. 

It was indeed a gruesome sight. Her punch wasn’t exactly on point, but the radius of her blow was so large that it had caught the bunker on the right and collapsed the whole entire thing. Punching through bunkers was much more favourable than using Jutsus as chakra blockers could block the jutsu, or worse, chakra sensors could sense the attack making them vulnerable to ambushes. 

There were exploded entrails leaking out on the stones with splatters of blood everywhere. No one was attacking back probably meant that everyone was dead of incapacitated. Sakura kept her hand on her kunai just in case. 

“Sakura.” Sasuke said, pointing at the weaponry peeking out through the stone. 

Some were shattered beyond recognition but there were few intact. Tipless tantos with a grey hilt. A foreign ninja might not know what they meant, hell, even some Konoha ninja might not know but Sasuke and Sakura were intently familiar. 

Sakura froze. “Is that…?” 

Sasuke grabbed one of the tantos and pocketed it. “Root.” 

A tipless tanto was a signature Root’s weapon that Sai and Yamato-senpai had both used. Sasuke and Sakura both dug around to find any other identifiers. 

And unfortunately, they did. A headband with a simple kaji written on it. Ishigakure’s headband. 

“Great, we came to find the outside threat and now we have to find the inside threat.” Sakura said. Her head was already hurting from the implications of this bunker. “An Ishinin and Root under a bunker? Any chances that it's a coincidence and it wouldn’t lead to a war?” 

Sasuke just gave her a long suffering look while summoning his messenger hawk. Sakura pulled a scroll out and quickly scribbled the situation. 

“Send it to the dobe and the Nara. We’ll wait for reinforcements to come to investigate before we leave. Tell them to bring their least irritating Hyuuga. ” 

Sakura diluted his words as friendly as possible and gave it to the hawk, Garuda, and watched him take off. 

“Just when I thought it’s going to be a fun mission.” Sakura lamented, starting the fire again. The wood was wet as Sasuke seemingly quickly had put it out with a quick  **Suiton.**

“Two members of Team 7 are here, of course the mission will go awry,” Sasuke commented dryly. 

That was an understatement considering the missions they had, starting from the very first one. Sakura went back to her sleeping bag, delighted to find that it still had a little bit of warmth in them. 

“Don’t let the investigation team wake me up or Konoha will be missing their team.” 

Sasuke nodded, knowing that it was not really an empty threat. 

With that, Sakura fell back to sleep. 

However, the threat must not have been scary enough because the sheer obscene amount of noise of people overturning rocks woke her up. Irrational anger filled her, the one that only occurred in the morning when she was wrongly awakened. 

She was greeted with a sight of three familiar ninjas and Sasuke standing with his arms crossed in the  _ i’m very annoyed  _ mode. 

When Sasuke saw that Sakura was up, he simply just passed her to go rest. “I thought I told you to write to bring the  _ least irritating Hyuga.”  _ He hissed. 

Sakura sighed. Hanabi was standing there using her Byakugan to screen through the rubble. “Did you do something bad to Shikamaru?” Sakura whispered back. 

Sasuke ignored her, opting to close his eyes. Hanabi infamously  _ hated  _ Sasuke almost blaming him for Neji’s death. But to be fair, there weren’t that many Hyuugas that had the clearance to come see a Root scene. 

Sakura approached the team. “Hi, Hanabi-chan, Sensei, Yamato-senpai.” 

Kakashi-sensei looked like he would rather be anywhere but here, only waving his hand in a lackadaisical manner in response. 

“Sakura, I hope we didn’t interrupt your sleep.” Yamato-senpai said, using the Mokuton to raise all the rubble in places where Hanabi was pointing. 

Sakura considered throttling the team, but Yamato-senpai’s earnest face convinced her otherwise. Instead, she did her best hospitality smile. “Of course not, it was time for me to wake up anyways. We’ll be leaving as soon as Sasuke gets some rest.” 

Hanabi’s shoulders stiffened at the mention of Sasuke but she continued instructing Yamato-senpai where to lift the rocks. 

Hanabi was nice, she really was. Hanabi was one of the only people who respected Naruto before the Pain incident and wholly supported the union between the couple. However, respect for Naruto was a double-sided sword when it came to Sasuke. 

“Kakashi-sensei, shouldn’t you be back in your bed like a good elderly person?” Sakura joked, squatting down next to him to see what he was looking at. It was a strange thing, a black lantern-like structure with seals written on the side. 

“I was, Sakura-chan. But my dear genins found a Root base in the middle of the night.” He replied. 

Sakura raised a single eyebrow at him. Literally, no one here was a genin. Sasuke was a nukenin at best which was definitely  _ not  _ a Genin.

Nevertheless, Sakura beamed back at him. “You must have the best students!” 

Kakashi-sensei gave her a long suffering look in the identical way that Sasuke stared at her before.  _ Like teacher, like student.  _ No matter how Sasuke tried to deny it, the teaching was still prevalent. 

“Of course! Kakashi-senpai had the honour of teaching the Seventh Hokage!” Hanabi replied earnestly. 

Three pairs of eyes stared at the Hyuga, all filled with exasperation. If only she knew the trouble that Naruto caused them. Still, it was nice to see someone looking up to Naruto. 

For the next few hours, Sakura watched the process of uncovering the remains of the base. She felt a tad apologetic for blowing it to smithereens seeing the work it took to recover everything. Kakashi-sensei intently stared at the recovered items all with seals written on them.

Well, this was going to take a while. 

  
  



End file.
